Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Felicity Buchan

Monday 22nd April 2024 Commons Chamber

[Felicity Buchan]

I thank my hon. Friend for his words welcoming Government expenditure on tackling rough sleeping and homelessness. The Government are very focused on helping the most vulnerable in our society, who are often rough sleepers. That is a cross-government effort. For instance, I work closely with the Department for Education on care leavers and I work closely with the Department of Health and Social Care on those who have addictions. I reassure my hon. Friend that no one will be criminalised simply for sleeping rough.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Felicity Buchan

Wednesday 20th March 2024 Commons Chamber

[Felicity Buchan]

We do not agree with the all-party group on British Muslims’ definition of Islamophobia; we believe the most appropriate term is “anti-Muslim hatred”. Let me explain why. In this country, there is freedom of religion, and also freedom to criticise a religion. What someone cannot do is discriminate against or show hatred to me because of my religion.

[Mr Speaker]

Alex Cunningham is not here. I call the shadow Secretary of State.

--- Later in debate ---

[Felicity Buchan]

We have been doing lots of work on that, and will releasing the report today.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the SNP spokesperson.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Felicity Buchan

Monday 4th March 2024 Commons Chamber

[Felicity Buchan]

My right hon. Friend makes a good point. Education is critical, and we need to bring our communities together. Last weekend, I was delighted to attend an inter-faith event in my constituency that included Holland Park synagogue, where it was hosted, and al-Manaar mosque. That inter-faith work and communities working together is critical.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Liz Twist (Blaydon) (Lab)]

For almost two years this Tory Government have failed to appoint an independent adviser on Islamophobia. The former adviser has criticised the Government for their failure to engage, and revealed that he could not even get them to provide terms of reference for his role. Does the Minister agree that this Government lack the political will to tackle this pernicious hatred, or even to call it out?

[Felicity Buchan]

I strongly disagree. We plan to appoint a new independent adviser on anti-Muslim hatred, and we will update the House shortly.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Scottish National party spokesperson.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Felicity Buchan

Monday 16th October 2023 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (Felicity Buchan)]

I am delighted to congratulate the staff and volunteers at the Hope Centre on 50 amazing years of supporting venerable people in Northampton. That work is critical in meeting the Government’s commitment to reduce homelessness and to end rough sleeping for good, which is backed by a Government investment of £2 billion over three years.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the SNP spokesperson.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Felicity Buchan

Monday 27th March 2023 Commons Chamber

[Felicity Buchan]

I am sorry to hear about the circumstances of the hon. Member’s constituent, and I am happy to talk in detail. There are currently 1,200 families in B&B accommodation for over six weeks. As I have said, we think that is inappropriate. We have made it clear to local authorities that B&Bs are a last resort, and they are an interim measure to more stable accommodation.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Felicity Buchan

Monday 20th February 2023 Commons Chamber

[Felicity Buchan]

In the UK, rent increased by 4.4% in the year to January 2023. We are clearly aware that there is a lot of pressure on household budgets, which is why the Treasury put together an enormous £37 billion cost of living package in 2022-23. A further £26 billion will be available in the coming year.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Felicity Buchan

Monday 9th January 2023 Commons Chamber

[Felicity Buchan]

I am very proud to be a Scots person. The hon. Gentleman mentioned the 2021 Holyrood elections: less than one third of the Scottish electorate voted for the SNP in that election.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the SNP spokesperson.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Speaker]

Order.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (Felicity Buchan)]

This Government have made an unprecedented commitment on rough sleeping and homelessness. We are investing £2 billion over three years. We do see seasonal fluctuations, but the rough sleeping numbers are at under 3,000 at the moment. Every single person sleeping rough is one too many, but we are very much on top of this.

--- Later in debate ---

[Felicity Buchan]

We are delighted to have welcomed more than 150,000 Ukrainians into this country. We thank all the sponsors. On homelessness, 1,720 homelessness duties were owed to households who arrived under the Homes for Ukraine scheme. That is a small fraction.

[Mr Speaker]

Let’s get the questions in, please.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Felicity Buchan

Monday 21st November 2022 Commons Chamber

[Felicity Buchan]

We are looking to abolish section 21 at the same time as we strengthen the grounds for landlords to take possession of their properties if they have a good reason to do so—that could be because of antisocial behaviour, rent arrears, or needing to sell the property. The two go in tandem, but it is absolutely imperative that we go ahead with the abolition of section 21.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Felicity Buchan

Monday 16th May 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Secretary of State, don’t spoil a good day. You are having a good day so far, don’t ruin it.

[Felicity Buchan (Kensington) (Con)]

T7. I and my Kensington residents welcome the fact that the social housing Bill was in the Queen’s Speech. Will my right hon. Friend confirm that the Bill will give social housing tenants the ability to hold their landlords to account? Will he also detail the likely timing of the Bill?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Felicity Buchan

Thursday 21st April 2022 Commons Chamber

[Felicity Buchan]

I am proud that the UK is a leader in the G7 in the transition to net zero. I am the trade envoy to Norway and Iceland, where there are huge opportunities to do more to further that transition to net zero. Will my hon. Friend update the House on the discussions we have had specifically with companies in Norway and Iceland?

[Mr Speaker]

Can I just say to the Minister that he has his fan club up there in the Public Gallery? It is a pleasure to see his family watching him.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Felicity Buchan

Thursday 2nd December 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

It might have been easier just to say that!

[Felicity Buchan]

Financial services account for more than 10% of our total tax take and are responsible for more than 1 million jobs throughout the country. Financial services are important not only to my constituents in Kensington but to Scotland, including Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Glasgow, and to Newcastle, Leeds, Bristol and Chelmsford. Does my hon. Friend agree that financial services need to be priorities in all future trade agreements to secure best market access?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Felicity Buchan

Thursday 4th November 2021 Commons Chamber

[Felicity Buchan (Kensington) (Con)]

T3. The Mayor of London is making cuts to seven bus routes in my constituency and has halted the upgrade to South Kensington tube station, at the same time as he has increased the congestion charge to £15 a day for my constituents. Does my right hon. Friend agree that this reeks of financial incompetence on the part of the Mayor and Transport for London?

[Mr Speaker]

I think you might get a favourable answer here.

Electric Vehicle Charging Points (New Buildings)

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Felicity Buchan

1st reading
Tuesday 13th July 2021 Commons Chamber

[Felicity Buchan (Kensington) (Con)]

I beg to move,

That leave be given to bring in a Bill to make provision about electric vehicle charging points in new buildings; and for connected purposes.

The UK is one of the leaders—[Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. In fairness to hon. Members who are speaking, I point out that the cameras pick up Members who are going to their seats and who block the view of the Member speaking. I know that it is important to get people into the Chamber, but this is a ten-minute rule Bill, and there is plenty of time for people to come in. Think of others, please.

[Felicity Buchan]

The UK is one of the leaders in combating climate change and I am rightly proud of that record. Since 1990, the UK has decarbonised at the fastest rate of any G20 country and of course, we were the first to legislate for net zero by 2050. Last December, we went one step further and said that we would have an interim target of a 68% reduction by 2030. That is rightly an ambitious target and I am glad about that. However, if we are to achieve it, we need to focus on our transport sector.

Transport is the biggest emitter of carbon in the entire country. Last year, it accounted for 29.8% of total emissions. If we look forward to 2035, that is likely to increase as a percentage share. Cars account for 55% of those emissions. If we add in light vans, that increases to almost two thirds. Hence we can see how vital it is that we transition to electric vehicles.

I am glad that the Government have brought forward to 2030 the date when we ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars. That is a huge achievement. However, it is important that we not only set targets but put in place concrete steps to achieve them. That is why I am introducing this ten-minute rule Bill today. It will mandate that all new homes and office buildings should have electric vehicle charging points.

I am delighted that the Bill has the support of two Opposition Members—one from the Scottish National party and one from the Democratic Unionist party—and the support of other colleagues on the Government Benches whom I could not list in the list of sponsors.

The Government did undertake a consultation in 2019 on mandating electric vehicle charging points in new buildings, but we have not yet seen legislation as a result. However, I hope that this Bill is very timely because we should imminently have both the transport decarbonisation plan and the infrastructure strategy plan. I do not want to be too forward, but it would be good to see the Government adopting the thread of the Bill.

Let me set out why I think this is so critically important. Constituents say that their one reservation about buying electric vehicles is concern about the reliability of the infrastructure and the charging network. Because of their concerns about that reliability, they become concerned about range—so-called range anxiety. By mandating that all new-build offices and homes have these charging points, we will be able to address a lot of these concerns. Residential users will know that they can charge their cars overnight, and people, like many in my constituency, who only have on-street parking will have confidence that they can charge their cars at their offices. It will also, importantly, relieve some of the pressure on on-street parking and on the general grid of the charging network.

The Bill is very important from a safety perspective. It is clearly better that people charge their cars at home with proper chargers rather than some of the ad hoc charging methods that we see at the moment, such as extension leads dangling through windows going towards on-street parking. I am glad to say that the Bill has the support of Electrical Safety First. It is way cheaper to install electric charging points at the point of construction rather than retrofitting. The latest data shows that to retrofit an electric vehicle charging point costs £2,040 but to install it from new costs only £976. It is also very important for the uptake of electric vehicles in rural communities. At the moment, inner cities, like my own City of London, do have good uptake, but all new-builds having these charging points will definitely help in rural communities, where 68% of journeys are done by car.

The Bill is also important because it forces developers to buy into net zero. That means that this is in everyone’s mind, because whenever people are in their house or in their office and see an electric vehicle charging point, they realise that the new norm is electric vehicles—because we do need to make it the new norm.

While this Bill does not seek to address all the issues with electric vehicles, we clearly do need a comprehensive and strategic national grid of charging points. We also need to focus on the consumer experience in terms of interoperability. This Bill will go a small way to encourage the uptake of electric vehicles, which is critical to meeting our target for net zero and making the world a better place.

Question put and agreed to.

Ordered,

That Felicity Buchan, Alan Brown, Tracey Crouch, Philip Dunne, Simon Fell, Damian Green, Mrs Pauline Latham, Tim Loughton, Cherilyn Mackrory, Selaine Saxby, Andrew Selous and Jim Shannon present the Bill.

Felicity Buchan accordingly presented the Bill.

Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 22 October and to be printed (Bill 146).

[Mr Speaker]

I suspend the House for one minute while necessary arrangements are made for the next business.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Felicity Buchan

Wednesday 9th June 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Felicity Kendal, come on! [Laughter.] Buchan even!

[Felicity Buchan (Kensington) (Con)]

Thank you, Mr Speaker. You have made me slightly older. I am proud of my Government’s record on the environment and the fact that we have cut emissions at the fastest rate of any G7 country. I welcome the fact that the Lancaster West estate in my constituency has benefited from a green grant of almost £20 million to decarbonise. Does my right hon. Friend agree that we need to build back better in a green way and in a way that levels up all parts of the United Kingdom?